THE aviation regulator will cut flights by Air China’s Boeing 737 fleet by 10 percent and cancel the licenses of the pilot and co-pilot involved in an emergency descent last week, domestic media said yesterday.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will also launch a safety crackdown on Air China for three months and fine the airline 50,000 yuan (US$7,460), China Central Television said on its WeChat account.

The cuts to the carrier’s Boeing 737 flight hours amount to 5,400 hours a month, it added. It also suspended the licences of other staff involved in the emergency incident, which was linked to a co-pilot smoking an electronic cigarette in the cockpit.

Air China’s Shanghai-listed shares fell in response to the safety crackdown. The stock is down nearly 40 percent so far this year, amid a falling yuan and higher oil prices.

BOCOM International analyst Geoffrey Cheng said the punishment would likely have an impact on Air China’s flight schedules, especially as it entered a peak travel season, but could also prompt the airline to rationalize its network to cut poorly performing routes. “It could have pros and cons,” he said.

The penalties by the regulator are likely to hurt Beijing-based Air China, which is already bracing for higher expenses from a weakening yuan and rising fuel costs. The penalties could result in about a 3 percentage point drop in Air China’s capacity, according to an estimate by Tianfeng Securities Co.

Air China operated 269 Boeing 737s out of its 655-strong fleet at the end of December, according to its full-year report issued in March. It has 311 Airbus 320 and 321 jets. (SD-Agencies)